Kimmel, who eventually appeared on the Oscars stage to try to salvage the show, attempted to describe the bizarre chain of Academy Awards events on last night's (February 27) episode of Live!, and said his immediate reaction to the snafu was a mix of fear and a reflex to laugh.

"I’m standing there like an idiot, feeling bad for these guys — but also trying really hard not to laugh, to be honest,” Kimmel said. "You figure, well, you know, the host will go onstage and clear this up. Then I remember, ‘Oh. I’m the host.'"

Kimmel said his priority was to try to articulate to the audience that the mixup wasn't a prank, but that the task was easier said than done.

“It was kind of scary, in a way,” he said. “That was the producer of La La Land who thought he won, standing there holding an Oscar they’re going to take away from him. My first instinct was to tell him to run. ‘Take the Oscar and get out!’ But he didn’t.”

Kimmel credited the show with handling the snafu as well as it could have. Still, the show has taken responsibility for the event and offered an official apology on its website.

"We deeply regret the mistakes that were made during the presentation of the Best Picture category during last night’s Oscar ceremony," the statement reads. "We apologize to the entire cast and crew of La La Land and Moonlight whose experience was profoundly altered by this error. We salute the tremendous grace they displayed under the circumstances. To all involved — including our presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the filmmakers, and our fans watching worldwide — we apologize."